The $100,000 Pyramid
This is chronicling the original 1980s era of The $100,000 Pyramid. Game Format Main Game The game is played with two teams of two players (consisting of one celebrity & one contestant) in a game of word communication. Each game starts with the introduction of six categories arranged in a pyramid. In the main game, a category's position on the pyramid was not an indicator of its difficulty. The categories were usually puns hinting to the content within that subject. Each team in turn chose a category, and then a subject under that category was given. Each subject has seven words/phrases/names. The team had 30 seconds to guess the seven answers that fit into the category. One player described each item while the other player tried to guess what the words are. Each correct word was worth one point. When a word was passed, it cannot be returned to, but if the guesser can guess the word already passed, the team still scored. If at any time the clue giver gave away any part of the answer or conveyed the essence of the answer, a cuckoo sounded and the word was thrown out. Each team had three turns with the celebrities giving first in round one, the contestants giving in round two, and in round three they decided amongst themselves on who's giving and who's receiving. Special Bonuses At some point in the game, a team would uncover a special card behind one category prompting a bonus situation. To win the bonus, the team had to get all the answers right. In situations where a team can win the game without needing all the answers or has won the game automatically, if the last category concealed a bonus, the team was allowed to play all the way out in order to win the bonus. *'7-11' - The team that exposed the 7-11 had 30 seconds to get all seven and win a cash bonus of $1,100. *'Mystery 7' - It was always played in the second game. The team that found the Mystery 7 had a chance to win a special prize. It's called the Mystery 7 because the category was not told until after it was done. The team had the usual 30 seconds to get all seven words. Tie-Breaker If the game ended in a tie, both scores were deleted and the game shifted into a tie-breaker situation. The team that caused the tie had a choice between two letters leaving the other for the other team. Both teams had 30 seconds to get as many of the seven items beginning with their letter(s) as they can. The team that got the most out of seven won the game. If the first team got seven, the time remaining on the clock was subtracted from 30 to give the time that the other team needed to get seven. If the game ended in a 21-21 tie, the team that broke the tie won $5,000 to the contestant. ---- The team with the most points won the game. Winner's Circle The giver of the winning team faced a larger pyramid board of six subjects with the guesser having his/her back to the board. The winning team had 60 seconds to climb up to the top of the pyramid by getting all six. On each subject, the giver gave a list of items that fit the subject while the guesser tried to guess what they all have in common. As soon as the guesser gets the right subject or passed, they moved on to the next subject to the right. Upon a pass, the team can come back to it if there's time leftover though the guesser can still get the subject without going back to it. If at any time the giver gave an illegal clue (giving away part of the answer, conveying the essence of the answer, descriptions of the category, prepositional phrases or a synonym) a buzzer would sound, the subject was re-concealed and the team forfeited the chance at the big money. The giver was discouraged from using his/her hands which is why they were strapped into the chair. Even though the big money was forfeited, the team can still go for the other subjects, because when time ran out, the contestant still won money attached to the subjects guessed; of course, getting all six in 60 seconds without illegal clues won the grand cash prize. Payoffs Here are the amounts for each subject: The first trip was worth $10,000, and the second trip was worth a total of $25,000 ($10,000 win in the first WC means the second is worth $15,000). Game/Championship Formats Each episode was made self-contained for it had the contestants play two games every show. Any money won from the Winner's Circle was used as score money not counting bonuses. The player with the most money or won both games returned to play the next show. If the show ended in a tie both contestants returned to play the next show. Contestants retired after five wins. Tournaments The three players who won the Winner's Circle in the shortest time during a given period of shows (usually 7-8 weeks) returned on later episodes to compete in a tournament. The players alternated in a round-robin, with two players competing each day and the third player replacing the loser of that episode in the next one, if neither player won the Winner's Circle that day (in the event of a tie, a coin toss was used to determine who returned on the next show). The first player to win the Winner's Circle won $100,000 and ended the tournament. If a $100,000 win happened in the first game of the show, the two remaining players played the second game for a possible $10,000. No bonus cards were in play during a tournament, although the $5,000 bonus for a 21-21 tie remained intact. Trivia Merchandise Computer Games Box Office (1987) It was released for the Commodore 64, DOS and Apple II computers at the time. 30817-16100.jpg 30817-16100B.jpg 30817-91100.jpg 30817-91100B.jpg g08744t6v16.jpg Sierra (2001) Banner aff_logo.jpg It was released for the PC at the time. 476944_44270_front.jpg Video Slot Machine IGT/International Game Technologies (2004) Featuring the late Dick Clark. 03151.jpg Brochure $100,000_Pyramid_Video_Slots_P1.jpg $100,000_Pyramid_Video_Slots_P2.jpg $100,000_Pyramid_Video_Slots_P3.jpg $100,000_Pyramid_Video_Slots_P4.jpg Video $100,000 Pyramid Slots - Thrilling Game Show Action with $100,000 Pyramid Video Slots Interactive Online Games Game Show Network/GSN WebTV Version Pyramid_shot3.jpg Online version I50_C.jpg 100k.gif DVD Game MGA Entertainment (2006) 51Pyv1-cPLL._SL500_AA300_.jpg Facebook Game Iwin (2011) 417153_312329212153736_2025807155_n.jpg 100k-Pyramid-Main.jpg Lottery Ticket $100,000 Pyramid Lottery Ticket.png Photos 100title2.jpg Pyramid_toplogo.gif 100000-pyramid.jpg Trade Ads $100,000_Pyramid_ad_1.jpg $100,000_Pyramid_ad_2.jpg 13522963_10153748389538494_8085277277490174674_o.jpg 1987-40.png 1472848_10151828699498494_1633536312_n.jpg $(KGrHqNHJB8FCEz4J8(PBQmK-vHD,g~~60_57.JPG 1985-40.png $(KGrHqV,!pkFB+kZm6rgBQoeVvMl,g~~60_57.JPG The_$100,000_Pyramd_ad.jpg 1985-50.png 1986-10.png 1986-11.png $100,000_Pyramid_'85.jpg Print Ads $T2eC16NHJI!E9qSO8GiEBR0HptGukQ~~60_57.JPG $T2eC16VHJGIE9nnWqrI7BRORbmQfdw~~60_57.JPG 100pyr-ad1.jpg Article 398448_3091067788133_1825385517_n.jpg Set Pics clark.jpg 120423_dickclark_featured.jpg 1377391_10151734522613494_1419793383_n.jpg 12813911 10153498034008494 3892359174192054226 n.jpg 100pyrpromo8.jpg 100pyrpromo7.jpg 34367_406830673493_420857_n.jpg 100pyrpromo4.jpg 100pyrpromo6.jpg 100Pyramid.jpg 375278_2664200855877_1914571912_n.jpg 406344_2664202535919_1463241569_n.jpg Staff Member Jacket 59640_439642978493_6112255_n.jpg Tickets The $100,000 Pyramid (May 17, 1985).jpg The $100,000 Pyramid (July 18, 1985).jpg The $100,000 Pyramid (April 18, 1986).jpg The $100,000 Pyramid (August 29, 1986).jpg The $100,000 Pyramid (December 05, 1986).png The $100,000 Pyramid (May 01, 1987).JPG The $100,000 Pyramid (November 13, 1987).jpg The $100,000 Pyramid (March 18, 1988).jpg Slate Slate for Debut Episode (May 17, 1985) ®.png Episode Status Reruns aired on USA Network from December 28, 1992 to September 8, 1995 and on again, off again on GSN since October 11, 1997. See Also: The New $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid/Episode Guide Video See Also The $10,000 Pyramid The $20,000 Pyramid The $25,000 Pyramid The $25,000 Pyramid (1982) The $25,000 Pyramid (2010) The $50,000 Pyramid The $100,000 Pyramid (1991) The $100,000 Pyramid (2000) The $100,000 Pyramid (2016) The $500,000 Pyramid The $1,000,000 Pyramid (2000) The $1,000,000 Pyramid (2009) Pyramid (1996) Pyramid (1997) Pyramid (2002) The Pyramid (2012) Pyramid Rocks The Junior Pyramid Junior Partner Pyramid All-Star Junior Pyramid Links The $100,000 Pyramid program description at Game Show Network The $100,000 Pyramid CD-ROM Game by Sierra (2001) The $100,000 Pyramid Video Slots by IGT (2004) The $100,000 Pyramid DVD Game The $100,000 Pyramid Tribute Page on Facebook Category:Game Shows N-Z Category:Syndicated Category:1985 Premiere Category:1988 Ending Category:Pyramid